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* FTSE 100 snaps 3-day losing streak
* Johnson says good trade deal with EU can be done
* Superdry jumps after naming Julian Dunkerton as CEO
* Dixons Carphone shines as profit jumps
* FTSE 100 up 0.88%, FTSE 250 adds 1.23%
(Updates to market close)
By Medha Singh
Dec 16 (Reuters) - London-listed stocks logged their best
day in nearly two weeks on Wednesday on signs of progress in
securing a new Brexit trade deal and optimism over a global
recovery aided by the rollout of coronavirus vaccines.
The domestically focused FTSE 250 index .FTMC jumped 1.2%,
rising for a third straight session, helped by a 10.5% surge in
shares of Dixons Carphone's DC.L after the electricals
retailer posted a big rise in first-half profit. The European Union's chief executive said headway had been
made in the long-running trade talks with Britain and that the
next few days would be critical ahead of an end-of-year
deadline. Latest business surveys showed Britain's economy limped back
to growth in December following November's four-week lockdown in
England, although hospitality businesses still struggled with
restrictions. "Today's UK PMI release provides a ray of hope in what may
otherwise be a tough winter," said Jai Malhi, global market
strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management.
"Investors will be buoyed by the resilience in these surveys
and with a vaccine now being slowly rolled out, any weakness in
the near-term data may cause less of a stir for markets than it
would have without the vaccine."
A slew of stimulus measures coupled with vaccine optimism
has helped London's stock indexes recover from multi-year lows
hit in March. But recent gains have been capped by fears
surrounding the near-term economic damage from the most onerous
restrictions in Britain's peacetime history. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE firmed about 0.9%, with
Wall Street also edging up on signs that another fiscal stimulus
package was imminent, while investors also awaited the U.S.
Federal Reserve's policy decision later in the day. MKTS/GLOB
Among individual movers, Fashion retailer Superdry SDRY.L
jumped 9.6% as it said interim Chief Executive Officer Julian
Dunkerton would take the top job on a permanent basis.